Need opinions on this vehicle
 

2000 Ford Explorer XLT V6 178K miles
ABS light doesn't go out
may need converter but not certain

Brakes are good
has a little rust on the rear fender but nothing really bad and the paint has oxidation

Muffler recently replaced. Still waiting for answers regarding if the engine or tranny have ever been overhauled.

This is mostly highway miles to Kentucky and back.

They are asking 1500

What doe KBB say?

Wow, what are you wanting it for Guru?

That is a lot of miles. I wouldn't be too concerned about the ABS light, but the converter, tranny questions are serious.

Kentucky and back? Running moonshine?

The ABS light usually means it needs brake fluid. At least it has on all my vehicles.

Is it Rollin on Firestones?

3000

Where did I say it had tranny questions? I just don't know if it has ever been overhauled is what I said.

We need something cheap for the kid since he killed the last car. I can't find shit under 3000 that doesn't have over 120k as it is.

Oh, it also is 4x4 with the following options to select.

Auto
Hi
Low

no

I would never buy an Explorer. I've heard way too many bad things about them. JMO.

that particular year and model are notorious for accidents involving roll overs. I wouldn't recommend him towing anything. Well I just wouldn't recommend that particular vehicle.

like.........................?

that is something I wondered about.

He wouldn't be towing shit. This is just to get him to school and work.

A 4x4 is always worth about a grand wholesale. So thats not a bad price. The only thing i would inquire about is if the shutters behind the dash that control air flow direction have ever been replaced.

As a dealer the most common problem i have seen with high mileage Explores besides the more common ones already listed above is that. And its a pain and half and you would not want to try and do it yourself. The entire dash must come off.

the only reason I am even entertaining this is the price isn't bad. Definitely NOT my first choice.

Just curious, why would I care about if the shutters have been replaced or not? Just curious

This.

No way in hell would I buy a top heavy rolling over piece of shit for my boy.

Most of the time they get stuck in summer when you have cold airflow. Then when you get to winter you freeze your but off and cant defrost your windshield.

Keep looking

Transmissions are junk. I would pass on the exploder.

http://imageshack.us/scaled/landing/...rkexplorer.jpg

Great car, IMO. Reliable and aggressive.

Piece of shit. stay away from it.

Then again, so is every other 1500 piece of shit.

****ing nickel and dimers. Never anything tremendously wrong, but always something wrong.

They'll last but I would be worried about the tranny and differentials with that many miles.

They're asking half of blue book for a reason.

My mom has a 98 Explorer and it's still running but my brother has done a lot of work to keep it that way. And it doesn't have that many miles.

Transmission are notoriously bad on these Explorers. ABS light being on probably means the ABS system isn't working and could be pricey to find the solution. The fact it's 4x4 is really the only good thing. I would keep looking.

Are you from around the KC area Guru?

I think they were the #1 trade in for cash for clunkers and for good reason.

Those years were ok.


Abs light is either a hub bearing or the sensor in the rear diff, or a broken wire.

Put some limited slip additive in the Trans. Might fix the shudder
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I have over 313, 000 miles on mines and it has the same transmission in it. If they have done oil changes and trans. changes it will run like most foreign cars. If you are gonna be pulling something with I suggest to have the transmission checked.

Who ****ing cares? It's $1,500. If it was a total lemon, it never would have made it 178k miles. If it lasts long enough to get home, that's a victory.

Seriously, the thing is living in the bonus round. Just assume that it could go tits up at any moment, and prepare to spend another $1,500. At that price point, you're really just hoping to get lucky.

this is where I'm at too. For 1500 anyone should expect to have to spend a little money to keep driving it
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E00Agreed. I'm just thinking spending $1,500 on an Explorer might not be your best bet. In particular because he said his son just totaled his last vehicle. I just searched craigslist around the KC area and found a few Accords and Carolas for reasonable prices. I would advise going that direction as opposed to the Explorer. Just my .02

I have an 05 Subaru Impreza WRX I wouldn't mind selling if you are interested. :D

KC really isn't on my list because I can't arrange for mechanical inspections on my time. Working nights just doesn't allow that kind of scheduling. Plus, If I am driving all the way to KC for a car, I plan on coming back with a car that day. Which really isn't a good way to used car shop.

Based on the way this thread is going, I don't plan on further considering this now BTW. One of the many reasons I love this place!!!!

My friend is the GM of Honda of Lake Jackson.

I'm looking for a cheap reliable cash car so I can get rid of my 2009 Lexus.

He said even pieces of shit are expensive now because it's a seller's market because of the tax refunds coming in.

Find a nice used Honda or Toyota.

He can't afford 4k and up.

One thing I will never understand is how people can car shop on Ebay and Yahoo then drive 2000 miles to pick it up. You don't even know what you are getting and you already agreed to buy it?

A far safer bet, and dirt cheap.

http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3574256119.html

I'll call on it but I bet it has over 200k miles on it. the wording of the ad gives me pause too. Whenever they say nothing is wrong with it there is usually something wrong they don't want you to know about.

So?

Just go drive it. Watch the temp gage and check for cv noise.

One of the first cars we looked at last year they posted a picture that was 4 months out of date. Failed to mention it had been wrecked in a race and needed all kinds of engine work.

couldn't get away from him fast enough.

I don't want a car that I have to worry about replacing an engine or tranny right out of the gate. I don't give a crap how good the rep of Honda and Toyota are.

Anecdote- i sold my 91 accord to the kid down the street 3 years ago. I see it driving past my house every day of the week. Had 220,000 on it when i sold it. It has been my experience that you will get your money's worth from that type of car. Or keep considering shit like explorers.

We had a '99 Cougar with the V6 & supposedly were hard on transmissions. I got on-line when ours was acting up & there was several write up mentioning a plastic piece on top of the motor that had something to do with the kick down. They were rebuilding trannies & the whole time it was that plastic piece. Real racket going.

It's been my experience that if the convertor's bad, the tranny is bad. I wonder what the reasoning is for questioning the convertor?

It's loud.

This is why I can't go to KC. I have any used car I am seriously considering purchasing checked by a mechanic first. I won't even consider a car over 200k. Hell, the only reason I even considered the Explorer was the price. BAsed on what I have learned today it is off my list.

No matter what you are looking at ask for the service records, last oil change, etc.

Cars can run forever if they're taken care of.

You might find a 200k mile car that has just had some major work done on it that may ease your mind.

Can't get that from dealerships. I absolutely ask for the records but most people don't keep them. Hell, I generally don't keep them either but I drive my car till it drops and then do a trade in. I don't want to hassle with trying to sell it on my own.

This always cracks me up on craigslist

"Engine light is on but it runs fine."

Well a lot of the time a CEL is just an o2 sensor or something silly like that. My car has had the CEL on since I bought it, but there isn't anything seriously wrong with it. I have a faulty o2 sensor, doesn't effect the way the car runs, drives, etc. The CEL light being on is annoying, but I am not dumping $50 bucks on a part I don't really need just so the light will go off

We had a 2000 Eddie Bauer explorer.

The ball joints will probably need to be replaced (that happens on those a lot) and the seals around the doors started to go last year so it was a little loud inside, but at 140K miles the thing ran like an absolute top. Transmission worked great, 4WD was still in perfect working order. I loved the damn thing and wouldn't have gotten rid of it but I just got a new company ride and my wife had been driving that thing forever so we decided to get her a new vehicle as well.

A friend of mine had a 1996 that he put over 200K farm miles on.

I really think Ford did a fantastic job with that body style and if you can get the SOCH V6 (I think they call it the Xmotor), it gets decent mileage without being underpowered. If it's the OHV V6, stay away; that version is underpowered. Just pop the hood and the cowl on the motor will tell you which engine it is.

For $1,500 there's very little chance you 'lose' money on it. If you drive it for a year and the damn thing explodes on you you're still coming out well ahead.

LMAO

I'll have to ask about the engine. Not sure which one it was. I did see the letters though. My wife and his work at the same place.

I went through this last year, looking for a car for my son. Every thing I could find under $3000 was complete trash unless you want something like a full size pickup. It's a terrible market right now for "kid cars". I feel for you.

Even if you die in the explosion?

Have JASONAUTO hook you up.

I have about 300,000 miles on my toyota truck. Still going strong. I had to use as a snow plow on Monday to get to work.

When I was looking last year, I was amazed at the number of Hondas that were on their 2nd engines. Apparently, a lot of people forget about changing the timing belts.

I have one, has a nice drive chain, can drive through any kind of weather with ease and I have never even almost tipped over, like any suv you proly shouldn't be taking turns at 90mph. If I were you I would take someone with me that sorta knows what to look and listen for and if it checks out I would go ahead and get it...

{raises hand}

The only reason the motor on my chrysler didn't detonate was that I sold it to my dad at 120K miles and he was smart enough to replace the belt before it went.

I had no idea. Stupid kids these days...

I have an '02, bought it in '04. It has almost 160k miles on it and has been the most reliable vehicle Ive ever owned. The only thing Ive had to do to it besides routine maintenance is replace a bearing in the back driver side wheel and replace the tie rod ends.

2000-2004 Explorers are ****ing POS to be honest. I had one.

Anything and everything will go wrong on vehicles made within these production years. Esp once they get around 80k.

I ended up getting an Impreza last year with 120K miles on it. The first thing I did was have the timing belt changed (supposed to be done at 105K) because the PO told "oh, you don't have to do that on this year :spock:". All the way home from buying it (about 50 miles), I felt like was on borrowed time.

...yet this one has made it another hundred thousand miles.

1500.00 / 12 months = 125.00

You can't find a car note anywhere for 125.00.

Sometimes you gotta take a chance I guess.

I might look for a Kia or Hyundai with some miles on it.

They're still decent transportation and have HORRIBLE resale.

So you may be able to get one on the cheap.

always a gamble...roll da' dice man!

$850

Man, can't find anything in my area that decent for under 2000 may have to settle for this one.

And now you know what you should do, Guru.

When has this idiot ever been right about anything - ever? It's not called the CoMo effect for nothing.

He's not right here either. It's a good vehicle that's perhaps a little too heavy for the light truck frame it was built on so things like the ball joints and the tie-rod ends have to be replaced a little more often than they would on something like a Tahoe, which was built on a full-sized truck frame.

You're not going to beat the value on a 4WD either, if that's something you really want. It will get fairly lousy gas mileage, though. Ours was getting in the high teens when all was said and done.

Meh, his grand am only got 16 mph so high teens would be an improvement.

That's slow!

If that were true, he wouldn't have totaled it. :)

dagnabbit. 16mpg LMAO

I am going to find out which engine it has tomorrow.

Catalytic converter?

I think everyone assumed torque converter
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It's actually the heater circuit on that o2 sensor.

If the actual sensor was bad you would get terrible gas mileage
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he would have jumped all over the older Taurus I sold a couple months ago.
1500 and was LOW mileage, owned by a hundred year old guy since new and he went to the nursing home. family wanted it yo go to the scrapper and I offered then what the yard did.

It drives by the shop every day to drop their kids off at head start
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I think it's the torsion bar suspension that eats those ball joints.

Blazers were the same way
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Yeah, I think it was the catalytic converter.